Sunday, June 22, 2008

What If.....

What if you can leave behind all the material obsessions, the endless expectations & the demands of modern day societies aside?

What if you can embark on this adventure, one so remote, so profound that you're able to immerse and lose yourself in but rediscover the person deep within?

What if you can find all the little joys and wonders of life that you so often miss out on in pursue of the realistic dream?

What if......


Into the Wild tells the journey of Christopher McCandless, a man who was sick of the facades of modern society and the obsession with material comforts, gave his life savings away to charity, burnt his remaining money, cut all his identification and set out on an adventure of a lifetime, seeking the truth of survival out in the wilderness.

Perhaps this is an over-romanticized version of the truth, perhaps this is as most Alaskans regard it as a pointless fuck-up, you can probably guess what's the ending. But I'm not much of a critic, not much of a "I have a strong opinion on everything" kinda person. I act and think with my heart more than my head and like many others, I am sorta struck by this story of this particular man, although I do think that his actions were very harsh on his family.

As Emile Hirsch who portrayed Christopher in the movie said, "A lot of us have this sense of longing for adventure but most of us do not end up pursuing it, not for the wrong reasons though, but Chris did," and in some ways, he became the unlikely hero. There were a lot of arguments detailing how he could have very easily survived provided he had a bit more common sense, carried a map with him, etc. but ultimately, this is a story of a man who defied the norm, who went all out, perhaps too much to seek that unreachable goal.

Now how can we call such a man silly when the rest are so cooped up with chasing the rat race relentlessly, convincing ourselves that it's all going to be worthwhile in the end. Does staying safe and doing what is expected commendable and risking your life and doing the unknown silly? Perhaps, perhaps....

From all my previous posts you can see the sorta struggle that a young adult may face, I might be the minority here but it's definitely not easy to leave everything behind, and go for what the heart truly desires. Sorry the cliche-ness in me begins to resurface.

So the conclusion is, Yes I am moved and yes I did buy the book the following day, and yes I do have a major crush on Emile Hirsch now (giggles like a school girl) and I leave you with a very nicely summed up quote by Sherie Simpson, you can read her article "A Man Made Cold by the Universe" here which provides a more unbiased account of Christopher's story.

"Too late he learned that the hard part isn't walking toward the wilderness to discover the meaning of life. The hard part is returning from the consolations of nature and finding meaning anyway, a meaning lodged within the faithfulness of our ordinary lives, in the plain and painful beauty of our ordinary days."

And finally, feast your eyes!